1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic component, e.g., a gas-sensitive field effect transistor or a gas sensitive sensor.
2. Description of Related Art
Gas-sensitive field effect transistors are, for example, electronic components which have at least one electrode and at least one gas-sensitive region that is lined with at least one gas-sensitive layer. These are used to detect certain gas species in a gas stream. For this purpose, the at least one gas-sensitive layer is selected so that the most specifically possible gas reactions are achieved. The gas-sensitive layers for this generally contain metallic components, which are partially catalytically active and are partially present in nanocrystalline form. In order to make possible a rapid gas reaction, the gas-sensitive layers are generally very thin and at least partially porous. Because of the porosity, a large specific surface is achieved, through which the gas reaction is able to be speeded up.
In order to set a working point for the field effect transistor working as a signal transmitter, it is necessary to contact the at least one gas-sensitive layer electrically. Because of the gas reaction on the gas-sensitive layer, the resulting potential acting on the channel of the field effect transistor then changes, and with that, the current through the transistor. In order to achieve as great as possible a gas reaction, and with that, as great as possible a change in the resulting potential, in the field effect transistors known from the related art, if possible, the entire gas-sensitive region is lined with the gas-sensitive layer, and the electrodes are positioned outside the gas-sensitive region.
In the case of currently produced, gas-sensitive field effect transistors, the electrodes for the electrical connection of the gas-sensitive materials of the gas-sensitive layer are already applied during processing of the signal transmitter. In general, these have a different composition and a different construction from the gas-sensitive material. This may lead to problems, such as edge breaks at the contacting locations between the electrode and the gas-sensitive layer, in the case of components that are highly stressed thermally.